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{{Military ranks}}
{{Military ranks}}


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poop poop poop poop poop poop poop==All General officer ranks==
A General officer is an [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] of high [[military rank]]. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. '''General''' can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.

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==All General officer ranks==
The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure; lower-ranking officers are known as [[field officer]]s. The General Officer ranks came about by adding General as an adjective to existing names of ranks, although in some countries the highest general officers are titled [[Field Marshal]] or [[Marshal]]. All officers who commanded more than a single [[regiment]] (the most significant level of unit) came to be known as "general officers".
The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure; lower-ranking officers are known as [[field officer]]s. The General Officer ranks came about by adding General as an adjective to existing names of ranks, although in some countries the highest general officers are titled [[Field Marshal]] or [[Marshal]]. All officers who commanded more than a single [[regiment]] (the most significant level of unit) came to be known as "general officers".


Revision as of 13:40, 22 January 2009

"General" and "Generals" redirect here. For other uses, see General (disambiguation).
Comparative military ranks
Armies,
air forces
(non-Commonwealth)		 Navies,
coast guards		 Air forces
(Commonwealth system)
Flag commissioned officers
Field marshal or Marshal or Captain general Admiral of the fleet Marshal of the air force
General or
colonel general or
army general		 Admiral Air chief marshal
Lieutenant general or
army corps general		 Vice admiral Air marshal
Major general or
divisional general		 Rear admiral or
Counter admiral		 Air vice-marshal
Brigadier or
brigadier general		 Commodore or
flotilla admiral		 Air commodore
Senior commissioned officers
Colonel (Ship-of-the-line)
Captain		 Group captain
Lieutenant colonel Frigate captain or
Commander		 Wing commander
Major or
commandant		 Corvette captain or Lieutenant
commander		 Squadron leader
Junior commissioned officers
Captain Lieutenant Flight lieutenant
First lieutenant or
lieutenant		 Lieutenant
junior grade or
sub-lieutenant		 Flying officer
Second lieutenant or
junior lieutenant		 Ensign or
midshipman		 Pilot officer
Officer cadet Officer cadet Flight cadet
Non-commissioned officers
Warrant officer or
sergeant major		 Warrant officer or
chief petty officer		 Warrant officer
Sergeant Petty officer Sergeant
Enlisted ranks
Corporal or
bombardier		 Leading seaman Corporal
Lance corporal or
Lance bombardier or
Specialist		 Able seaman Leading aircraftman or
Air specialist
Private or
gunner or
trooper or
sapper		 Seaman Aircraftman or
airman or
aviator

poop poop poop poop poop poop poop==All General officer ranks== The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure; lower-ranking officers are known as field officers. The General Officer ranks came about by adding General as an adjective to existing names of ranks, although in some countries the highest general officers are titled Field Marshal or Marshal. All officers who commanded more than a single regiment (the most significant level of unit) came to be known as "general officers".

Common systems

There are two common systems of using general ranks.

One form, the old European system, is used in the United Kingdom from which it eventually spread to the Commonwealth and the United States of America. The system is not British in origin, and variations of this system were once used throughout Europe.

The other is derived from the French Revolution, where generals' ranks are named according to the unit they (theoretically) command.

Old European system

Field Marshal or Field Marshal General
Colonel General
General or Captain General
Lieutenant General
Sergeant Major General or Major General
Brigadier (General)

The system used either a brigadier rank, or a colonel general rank (i.e. exclude one of the italicised ranks.)

The rank of field marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank, while in other countries it was used as a divisional or brigade rank. Many countries (notably pre-revolutionary France and eventually much of Latin America) actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia. (Mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks.)

In some nations (particularly in the Commonwealth), the equivalent to Brigadier General is Brigadier, which is not always considered by these armies to be a general officer rank, although it is always treated as equivalent to the rank of Brigadier General for comparative purposes.

Note that a Lieutenant General outranks a Major General, although a (field) Lieutenant is outranked by a Major.

French (Revolutionary) system

Marshal
Army General
Corps General
Divisional General
Brigade General

More information about this system can be found on the page: Général.

Other variations

Other nomenclatures for general officers include the titles and/or ranks:

The specific General rank

In the Old European system, a General, without prefix or suffix (and sometimes referred to informally as a "full general"), is usually the most senior type of general, above Lieutenant General and directly below Field Marshal. Usually it is the most senior peace-time rank, with more senior ranks (for example, Field Marshal) being used only in wartime, or as honorary titles.

In some armies, however, the rank of Captain General, General of the Army, Army General or Colonel General occupied or occupies this position. Depending on circumstances and the army in question, these ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a full General or to a Field Marshal.

The rank of General came about as a "Captain-General", the captain of an army in general (i.e., the whole army). The rank of Captain-General began appearing around the time of the organization of professional armies in the 17th century. In most countries "Captain-General" contracted to just "General".

General ranks by country

The following articles deal with the rank of General, or its equivalent, as it is or was employed in the militaries of those countries.


Air Force and Navy equivalents

Some countries (such as the United States) use the General Officer ranks for both the army and the air force; others only use the General Officer ranks for the army, while in the air force they use Air Officers as the equivalent of General Officers. They use the air force rank of Air Chief Marshal as the equivalent of the specific army rank of General. This latter group includes the British Royal Air Force and those based on it (e.g. India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Nigeria etc.).

In most navies Flag Officers are the equivalent of General Officers, and the naval rank of Admiral is equivalent to the specific army rank of General. A noteworthy historical exception was the Cromwellian naval rank General at sea. In recent years in the American service there is a tendency to use "Flag Officer" and "Flag Rank" to refer to generals and admirals of the services collectively.

See also

Look up general officer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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